The Conversation

Kamala Harris illustrates how complex identity is − and the pressure many multiracial people feel to put themselves in one ‘box’

Written by Wilson K. Okello, Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Black Study in Education Lab, Penn State

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, is often asked questions about her multiracial identity.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

People sometimes feel pressured to choose one identity over another. Kamala Harris, who is multiracial – her mother is from India and her father is a Black immigrant from Jamaica –...

Iran’s strike on Israel was retaliatory – but it was also about saving face and restoring deterrence

Written by Aaron Pilkington, Fellow at the Center for Middle East Studies, University of Denver

Israel and Iran are at war. In truth, the two sides have been fighting for decades, but the conflict has played out largely under the cover of covert and clandestine operations.

The recent actions of both sides in this once “shadow war” have changed the nature of the conflict. It is not clear that de-escalation is on the horizon.

On Oct...

Presidential immunity has clear limits, special counsel filing says, and Trump should be tried for efforts to overturn 2020 election

Written by Jennifer Selin, Associate Professor of Law, Arizona State University

Who will define the limits of the Oval Office occupant's immunity?AP Photo/Alex Brandon

A new filing by special counsel Jack Smith in the case he has brought against Donald Trump for his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election provides greater detail and support for Smith’s argument that Trump, while president, committed...

Up against Hank Greenberg, baseball’s first Jewish superstar, antisemitism struck out

Written by Robert Gudmestad, Professor and Chair of History Department, Colorado State University

Hank Greenberg hit 331 home runs with a batting average of .313 during his career.Sporting News via Getty Images

Hank Greenberg might be the best baseball player you’ve never heard of.

Greenberg was the first baseman for the Detroit Tigers during the 1930s and 1940s. His career was relatively short – 13 years – and interrupted by...

Israeli actions have the cover of ‘moral hazard’ − a touch of ambiguity might give US pressure greater weight

Written by Charles Walldorf, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Wake Forest University

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 25, 2024.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Sometimes, superpowers have a hard time getting smaller allies to do what they want with the assistance they provide. Often, it is to the detriment of the larger power’s interests.

The United States has faced a fair bit of...

Black Pentecostal and charismatic Christians are boosting their visibility in politics − a shift from the past

Written by Dara Delgado, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and Black Studies, Allegheny College

Worshippers listen as President Joe Biden speaks at Mount Airy Church of God in Christ on July 7, 2024, in Philadelphia.Joe Lamberti for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Many Black leaders are swinging into action for the Harris-Walz campaign – and clergy are no exception.

On Aug. 5, 2024, The Black Church PAC hosted a “Win With the...

Bottled up in the Black Sea: Russia is having a dreadful naval war, hindering its great power ambitions

Written by Colin Flint, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Utah State University

The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has played out largely on land and in the air. It is a bitterly contested, grueling ground war, accompanied by brutal Russian aerial attacks on civilian infrastructure and a slow but increasing Ukrainian response.

But a less appreciated but vital focus of the war is happening on water, too. There, a co...

Latino voters are a growing force in Pennsylvania’s old industrial towns − and they could provide Harris or Trump with their margin of victory

Written by A. K. Sandoval-Strausz, Professor of History, Penn State

Puerto Ricans make up over half of the Latino population in Pennsylvania.Lisa Lake via Getty Images

After Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president in early September 2024, posting a message to her 284 million fans on Instagram, some Democratic strategists suggested that an endorsement from Puerto Rican recording artist Bad Bunny could do...

Centuries ago, the Maya storm god Huracán taught that when we damage nature, we damage ourselves

Written by James L. Fitzsimmons, Professor of Anthropology, Middlebury

An illustration of K'awiil, the Maya god of storm, on pottery. K2970 from the Justin Kerr Maya archive, Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, D.C., CC BY-SA

The ancient Maya believed that everything in the universe, from the natural world to everyday experiences, was part of a single, powerful spiritual force. They were not...

In ‘Nobody Wants This,’ rom-com gets century-old tropes with a new twist – the cute rabbi

Written by Samira Mehta, Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies & Jewish Studies, University of Colorado Boulder

Adam Brody and Kristen Bell attend a fan screening for Netflix's 'Nobody Wants This' in New York City.Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Netflix

Twenty years ago, the television show “The O.C.” invented the word “Chrismukkah.” Main character Seth Cohen, played by Adam Brody, described his interfaith family’s December...